The ECHL Las Vegas Wranglers have called the city home for the past ten years. Two players, Chris Francis and Eddie DelGrosso are homegrown, Wranglers hockey a part of their youth development. The team is a part of the community and provides family entertainment in a city where adult entertainment is paramount. A few weeks ago the Wranglers organization learned that the contract on their arena, The Orleans Arena would not be extended for the 2014-2015 season. The ECHL requires all teams to secure a venue for next season by a January 20th deadline, which puts the organization in a scramble to find a suitable space in the Las Vegas area.

Local news Fox 5 KVVU-TV featured a story on the Wranglers’ woes and can be seen here.

Las Vegas Wranglers Fans have taken it upon themselves to create awareness around the team’s struggles and have created a Facebook Page, “Save the Las Vegas Wranglers”

There is also a petition that fans and supporters can sign to rally behind the team to demonstrate to other possible venue locations that the Wranglers are a team worth saving.

Minor League hockey may not be as fast and as flashy as the NHL but it is the hockey foundation for many communities and grows the game in the most unlikely of places. The players are accessible and involved in the local community on a level that the major league cannot compete with. If you are a hockey fan at any level, the Wranglers are worth fighting for, to keep them home. Spread the Word.

A West Coast girl, born and raised in the Bay Area in the most non-traditional Hockey Market you could imagine for a long time... When the Sharks came to town it changed the Bay Area hockey landscape forever. Her first love will always be the Red Wings but she has embraced the Sharks since their debut in 1991. She has a passion for minor league grind-it-out-in the-corners hockey. Her heart broke when the ECHL Bulls folded , but luckily the Stockton Thunder are still close enough for her to get her gritty-hockey fix. Besides watching hockey, she is an American Tribal Style belly-dancer and trolls the blue-line, playing defence in a local rec hockey league... A somehow strange but balanced juxtaposition.

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[…] Earlier this year, the Boyd Gaming Group revealed that they would not renew the teams’ lease at the Orleans Arena, forcing the Wranglers to scramble to figure out a solution in a short amount of time. A new plan was brought forth to house the team on the roof of the Plaza Hotel beneath a tent. The project ended up more pricey than originally expected, leaving Las Vegas in a bind to find a new home for the team in a very limited time window. […]